LANSING, January 17, 2001 – The dream of attending college will soon become a reality for Thaddeus Coats of Inkster, thanks to the Michigan Lottery! Coats was the only Big Game player in seven states to correctly match all six winning numbers in the January 11, 2002 Big Game drawing. The winning numbers for that drawing were: 4, 5, 21, 24, 38 and the Big Money Ball number was 21.

The jackpot that night was worth $80 million, but Coats opted to collect his prize in one lump-sum payment of an estimated $43.9 million. The actual cash value of the prize will be determined after the sale of the treasury bonds that fund the prize. The lucky man purchased the winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket at 7-Eleven #13462, 27150 Cherry Hill Road, in Dearborn Heights.

"I don’t buy Lottery tickets very often, but decided to buy one that evening because I was already out buying tickets for my grandmother," Coats said. "I actually forgot that I had the ticket until I saw a report on television featuring the 7-Eleven store where I had purchased my ticket."

The 20-year-old Coats then decided to check his ticket, and much to his surprise, he was holding the jackpot-winning ticket!

"I read the numbers on my ticket to my mom while she checked them against the numbers shown on television," the winner said. "Both my mother and my grandmother were ecstatic! My grandmother was so excited that I thought she was going to have a heart attack."

Coats said that on the day he discovered he had won, he almost lost the winning ticket several different times.

"The ticket kept falling out of my pocket," Coats said. "I must have dropped it on the ground five or six times that day!"

Once he discovered he had the winning ticket, Coats decided to put is somewhere to ensure its safety. Prior to turning the winning ticket over to Lottery officials, Coats said he kept it in a "safe place."

"I am absolutely thrilled for Mr. Coats," Acting Lottery Commissioner James Kipp said. "It’s been a true pleasure to meet with Michigan’s newest multi-millionaire and share in his excitement!"

Coats, who enjoys playing many different sports and practicing martial arts, said he plans to use part of his winnings to pay for his college education, share with his family, take a trip to Japan and invest the rest for his future.

"There are so many things I want to do that I just didn’t have the money to do before," Coats said. "I want to visit Japan and learn all about their culture, as well as learn the language, and I would love to learn how to play the piano. Now I can do these things and I am really looking forward to it!"

Coats, who works as a customer service representative for Weight Watchers, offered the following words of advice to other Lottery hopefuls: "Keep your hopes up!"

The Big Game is a multistate lottery game in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at more than 7,000 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

Big Game drawings are conducted every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. The next Big Game drawing is Friday, January 18 with an expected jackpot of $7 million.

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